Panera Wrongful Death Lawsuits Show Dangers of Charged Lemonade and Other Spiked Beverages
Recent lawsuits have claimed wrongful death over Charged Lemonade at Panera restaurants. The claims bring up a variety of legal questions around food and beverage safety.
As a Memphis personal injury lawyer, I see claims related to restaurants and food service all the time. These cases can be complex, and the outcome will depend on a lot of different circumstances.
Wrongful Death Over Charged Lemonade: The Panera Cases
In recent months, Panera has faced multiple lawsuits related to a new product called Charged Lemonade. The drink contains a high dosage of caffeine which, as a stimulant, can be dangerous in large quantities for certain people.
The injury suits claim the drink caused fatal heart attacks in consumers with pre-existing conditions. One lawsuit argues a large cup of the lemonade contains more caffeine than Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined, along with almost 30 teaspoons of sugar.
For people with high blood pressure, heart conditions, and other health problems, this amount of caffeine could cause a high risk of injury. So as these cases progress (and potentially more come in the future) a few questions emerge, including:
- Did Panera know their product could cause increased risk?
- Were customers properly warned of the risk so they could avoid injury?
- Did the company respond appropriately as soon as they realized the potential dangers?
Our Memphis wrongful death lawyers are closely monitoring these cases and similar complaints. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, contact us today.
Other Beverage-Related Injuries and Personal Injury
There are a number of other ways beverages can cause serious personal injury – most commonly, alcoholic drinks pose special risk.
Firstly, you can’t over-serve people or sell drinks to minors. Our home state of Tennessee has something called a “dram shop law.” It says anyone who sells alcohol to a minor or someone already very intoxicated could possibly be held liable for injuries that person causes as a result (for example, in a drunk driving accident).
In addition, restaurants and bars can’t secretly spike drinks or serve something alcoholic when the person ordered non-alcoholic. Generally, this only happens as a mistake and has no serious consequences. But for sober customers or people on specific medications, it can have a devastating impact and even lead to serious injury.
Lastly, personal injury law covers serious injuries due to food poisoning, including illnesses from contaminated drinks. Food poisoning unfortunately happens all the time, so these cases are reserved for long-term injuries with major medical bills and other losses.
Proving a Food or Beverage Wrongful Death Claim
It can be difficult to determine if you have a food poisoning or beverage poisoning injury case. First, you need to be sure your food or drink caused the injury. To do this, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.
You’ll also need to have a serious injury. For example, Panera’s Charged Lemonade cases are wrongful death cases – deeply tragic and catastrophic losses. In order to move forward, you need to show it cost you significant damages and physical harm.
To strengthen your claim, document as much as you can, including:
- any other individuals who consumed the same food or drink and exhibited similar symptoms
- receipts from the event
- packaging you can save
- a detailed timeline of events
- a list of any witnesses,
- etc.
And to help build your case on any of these points, you’ll need an extremely well-equipped personal injury attorney on your side.
Our award-winning Memphis wrongful death lawyers will stand with you every step of the way. If we take your case, we’ll strengthen your claim and defend you against all the odds. And we don’t make a penny until we win.
If you have a claim of wrongful death over charged lemonade or any other food or beverage, don’t wait to get started. You want to work with an attorney as soon as possible for the best chance of success.
Contact us today at 901-327-2100 or contact us online for a free appointment.